Liquor King, Christchurch

Brief
Work with Liquor King to design an immersive, experiential concept for the company’s flagship stores to change the way people shop for alcohol.

New design thinking creates brand loyalty
Consumers tend to make alcohol purchase decisions around two factors alone: price and proximity. When it’s time to buy, they go wherever is closest, cheapest or both.

As a liquor retailer, this makes it hard to compete; winning business means undercutting yourself. Our client, Liquor King, had a different idea: to establish a clear point of difference by engaging with shoppers in unique and exciting ways. To earn business by delighting customers and enticing them to return. With customers at the heart of their business, Liquor King’s goal is to become New Zealand’s most adored liquor retailer and transcend the traditional liquor store experience.

Breaking away from the traditional bottle shop experience, we worked with Liquor King to design a concept that puts the customer in the driver’s seat – and gives products a gentle nudge to the back. Imagine your local liquor store. How is the floor organised? Most likely by products – various spirits in designated areas, beer in another, and wine in a third. While this layout is predictable, it doesn’t meet customers in their buyer journey or help guide them to a purchase decision. If shoppers went in undecided, they would leave just as unsure.

Liquor King took this model and flipped it on its head, creating experiential zones designed around customer personas rather than straightforward product categories. Built around the shoppers themselves, zones are fun, memorable, and targeted – guaranteed to turn Liquor King customers into promoters.